To tell or not to tell...

Yesterday, I had several comments on decisions not to tell people you were banded.  I thought I would write a post about this topic.  I remember writing something pretty similar on LapBandTalk.

Before I was banded, I was absolutely positive that I would tell NO ONE (other than my close family and friends).  But once I was banded and had lost noticeable amount of weight, I felt like I really could not just let people say, WOW.  You know that WOW always comes with - HOW??  And it started to get to me...  I mean, I was one of those people once.  You saw someone who had obviously had success and I would ask HOW??  So I always felt bad just saying, I work out a lot and I eat very little.  It just seemed like it was unfair somehow to make someone feel like I had done it myself, and that they were obviously not trying hard enough.  (And, to be honest, losing 126 lbs in one year would make people talk no matter what I admitted to.)

I mean, I totally get the other viewpoint.  And this is such a person decision.  I noticed that around month 3 I started to say things like "I had some help..."  I really truly struggled with talking with someone who was obviously in the same difficult situation I had been in and not being honest with them.  Truth be told, when a skinny skinny commented, I would just say THANKS ;) 

And now, I feel very strongly about the lapband as a viable life-altering option.  I see extremely obese people these days and I think to myself, YOU HAVE OPTIONS.  DON'T BE AFRAID.  I am not really an advocate, but I feel like I represent an option for people.  And people want to know... go ahead, start telling people and see how they respond.  They want to hear about it.  They want to know if the horror stories perpetuated in the press are true.  And those who judge me, well, read my last post.  I don't really even care at all.  I will live longer, I am a size 8 and loving the shopping life - and I feel really good about myself.  Judge away ;)